The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
I don’t know that I will ever rewatch, let alone review, the “Naked Gun” sequels, but at some point I will definitely review “Police Squad!,” the 6 episode comedy series that preceded this franchise. Though it sets up a lot of the gags that this franchise became known for, it’s a different beast in terms of tone and silliness. This was one of those TV-to-movie adaptations where both show and movie had their own styles, and are very good in their own ways.
It’s wild to think how, six years after this film- and mere months after the release of the third film in this franchise- the scenes of physical torture of OJ Simpson’s Detective Nordberg would take on a very different feel for audiences. Now, it’s almost cathartic to watch the disgraced football star take on so much wanton, comedic violence. While that should make this a tough watch, it actually adds to the absurdity of “The Naked Gun” that, of the three main characters, we enjoy watching one of them get tortured so much because of our feelings about the person.
I was about 11 when the first David Zucker’s first film in the misadventures of Lt. Frank Drebin (played by the always, wonderfully delightful Leslie Nielsen), and I’ll be honest, some of this didn’t exactly go over my head. The vaseline in the pitcher’s cap. The full-body condoms. The laughing at “Platoon.” The towers shaped as boobs when Frank says, “everything I see reminds me of her.” Even if I didn’t understand everything in terms of watching “Platoon” or seen a condom yet, I got enough of why it was a bit out of bounds for a movie to make those jokes that I enjoyed this film.
My mother appreciated the parody genre quite a bit. I wouldn’t watch “Blazing Saddles” or “High Anxiety” until a bit later in life, but movies like “Airplane!”- the first film by the trio of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker (ZAZ)- “Young Frankenstein,” “Spaceballs,” this and “Hot Shots!” were ones I watched a lot as a kid. Even though Mel Brooks is the unquestioned master of the genre, ZAZ- when they were on- did things just right with it, because- especially with this- they took tropes and bits and built an entirely new narrative around it. It’s not unlike what Brooks did with “Blazing Saddles,” but it’s an extension of their work on “Police Squad!”. If you get a chance to watch that, and have been a fan of this, it’s worth a blind purchase to see how this iconic spoof character began, and how Nielsen’s funnyman persona grew after “Airplane!”.
There’s so much I love about this movie, which is upper-tier comedy, but doesn’t quite reach icon status. I can’t forget to mention Priscilla Presley and her recently-stuffed beaver; George Kennedy as Frank’s partner, Ed; the Q-like gadgets at Police Squad headquarters; Ricardo Montalban as the rich villain, Ludwig; the crazy opening scene in Beirut; the Angels game climax; the misadventures of a stakeout; and of course, the iconically-silly main titles sequence, which lets Ira Newborn’s theme score some crazy driving. I don’t watch this as much as I do “Airplane!” or Mel Brooks, but “The Naked Gun” has always been a fun watch.
